Cross Familiar
by Chibimono Akuno
Summary: As Zoro sleeps, his mind takes him to the edge of his memories, so he can use his past to look at his present. [ZoroLuffy nakama fic]


**Title: ** Cross Familiar  
**Author: ** Chibimono Akuno  
**Fandom: ** One Piece  
**Pairing: ** ... um... nakama!fic-ish? But Zoro + Luffy centric  
**Rating: ** G  
**Word Count: ** 986  
**Warnings: ** not even pre-slash, but you can still find the ZoLu if you know where to look.  
**Disclaimers: ** Not mine. Just pretending. Oda pwnz all, but he lets Luffy eat at my brain.  
**A/N: ** This is actually a prologue to something much, much, much bigger, but since it can also stand alone, I felt I could go a head and post it.

**Cross Familiar**  
_by Chibimono Akuno_

When Zoro would nap on the deck of the _Going Merry_, or anywhere else for that matter, he was usually quite alert of his surroundings, save for a few incidents here and there. He would not dream, per se, but many times he would drift right on the edge of his mind's eye, and let his mental image of the ship's deck change, shrink, and fade off. Sometimes, the railings would change to rice paper walls, and the wood under his body would take on a fine, shining finish or be replaced completely by _tatami _ mats. It was only in this part of his mind that he would allow himself to be with less than three swords. _Sandai Kitetsu_ and _Yukibashiri _ would lean idly by, ready to be taken up at a moment's notice... while_ Wado Ichimonji_ would return to _her _ hands.

She wandered in and out of the hazy corner in his mind, mostly quiet as she sometimes sat beside him. Zoro wondered if that was because he could not remember her voice after all these years, but then that was not so true. Occasionally she would laugh, claim that Zoro was still weak, or point out something odd that may have happened while he was awake.

More often than not, that oddity seemed to be the same person every time.

"Do you think he would fall overboard as much if you didn't go in after him?" Kuina asked him on a sunny afternoon, where his mental hideaway was an odd cross between _Merry_'s deck and the _dojo_.

"I don't think he cares," Zoro snorted from where he leaned against a barrel with his arms behind his head, his legs stretched out along side the well-known railing decorating the once familiar rice paper walls.

Kuina smiled from where she sat against the wall, cradling her sword between her bent knees. "He's always like that... So reckless."

Drifting back to sometime midmorning, Zoro recalled a rather normal incident involving his Captain and the not-so-welcoming sea. Luffy had splashed rather spectacularly into the ocean after fleeing from the odd stench Usopp had unfortunately created with his miniature laboratory set. As Usopp dry heaved miserably, Robin sprouted twenty arms to fan the toxic fumes away with the wind and Chopper dashed about yelling for a doctor before realizing that he was, indeed, the crew's doctor. As Nami barricaded herself in her cabin to avoid the smell and Sanji tried to make the kitchen air-tight against it as well as to prevent it from possibly spoiling food, Zoro was the only one available to dive in after their Hammer of a Captain. Not that Zoro had put any thought into it, of course; it had become a habit with so many possessors of _Akuma no Mi _ powers aboard.

"Thanks, Zoro! I'd be so very dead if not for you!" Luffy crowed between sputtering as he was unceremoniously dumped in a sopping wet heap on the deck. Zoro proceeded to scowl and remove his shirt for wringing.

With the smell gone in the ocean breeze, Luffy had paraded his sloppy, wet self over to Usopp and proceeded to show him how a wet dog would dry himself, spraying Usopp, as well as Robin and Chopper, in the process. Zoro could not help but to laugh at that, glad that he was spared from being a victim, as Luffy gave him a wide smile and a snicker of his own.

Chuckling at his own memory, Zoro turned a smerk upon his mental image of Kuina. "An odd one, ain't he?"

"I sometimes wonder why you follow him," she said, her eyes distracted by movement behind him. "He saved your life, and you have saved his countless times. Isn't your debt to him repaid? Or do you really think you will reach your goal with him?"

Zoro did not need to turn to know what, or who, she was watching. The loud laughter and destruction he heard could be no other than the captain, sharpshooter, and doctor playing some sort of haphazard game.

"We've already crossed Mihawk's path once. We're on the Grand Line now... He could be anywhere. Why not just let me be led? With as much trouble as we run into, I'm gaining strength in every battle. With every swing of a blade, with every adversary, with every near death experience, I'm getting closer to becoming the best I can be. When I finally meet him again, I will not be defeated. The Pirate King must have his greatest swordsman."

Kuina only watched the ongoings beyond Zoro's shoulder, a small smile on her face. He even wondered if she had listened to a thing he said just then. He wondered if the reason she asked about him so much was because her spirit wanted to know, or if was because the person in question was really on his mind so much. But perhaps it did not matter, as this was all in his head, right?

"I'm still curious as to how a person like him will become Pirate King, but I suppose that underneath the childish insanity, he's not as weak as you are."

She laughed then, but Zoro had no chance to respond before Luffy charged into his mind's view and dived roughly for Zoro's lap. The paper walls and Kuina had faded around him and _Wadou _was once again in place with the other two swords the moment his eyes opened to glare down at his captain.

"TAG! YOU'RE IT!" Luffy cackled as he forced himself upright as fast as he could. He took off running, his flipflops slapping the hard wood of the deck and the soles of his feet in the haste of his retreat.

"Childish insanity, indeed," Zoro found himself growling with a grin as he jumped to his feet and gave chase, amid the chorus of "Zoro's _it_!"

_- owari -_


End file.
